1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is for a loose media compacting apparatus which can be used with a baler or other equipment, and, more particularly, is for a loose media compacting apparatus including a charging chamber with opposed retractable walls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art charging chambers forming parts of loose media compacting apparatus for use with balers or other equipment have often been connected to loading hoppers having flared sides to accommodate wide conveyors delivering waste media. Such flared side geometry limits and hampers the delivery of waste media to the charging chamber. The flare or slope in the loading hopper creates a funnel effect between the loading hopper and the charging chamber which invites bulky media to inconveniently jam or bridge as it is gravity fed from the loading hopper to the charging chamber. Also, in prior art devices minimal attention has been devoted to centering waste media entering the charging chamber and to equal distribution of waste media entering the charging chamber, such inattention in turn adversely affecting waste media entering a downstream compression chamber. Specifically, the compression path of the main compression ram would get slightly out of alignment with surrounding and adjacent guide surfaces with the result that one side of the main compression ram met uneven resistive force to unevenly align with a guide structure and thereby cause undue and uneven wear of the contact surfaces. Such uneven loading also manifested itself in producing bales of uneven composition, whereby the bales would tend to banana or curve in single-ram balers, or have voids or varying densities in the case of two-ram or side-eject balers.